Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-21
LAND OF THE CRESCENT.
How the Rulers of tho Faithful Live
and What Thew Do TO AmUse
Themselves.
Fine Menagerie-A Sultan Who Rules
With q Firm Hand-Systems of Pub
lie Schools Ia Turkey.
Emile Juliara, in Cosmopolitan.

Emile Juliard, In Cosmopolitan.
Generally, the life of the Sultans is di-
vided into two parts: The first is devoted
to doing nothing; the second to reposiHg
This double occupation sometimes leaves
them leisure 20 put their sigma
ture, or rather their seal, to the
hats Lletters), or to the trades (laws)
that the grand viziers originate, write out
and read to their masters, who do not al
ways consider it necessary to listen. But
hasten to add that Sultan Abdul Hamid
differs from his predecessors, in this re-
spect at least. He is a working Sultan,
two words that, previous to his reign,
would have been greatly astonished to
find themselves coupled together. Pru-
deut, suspicious, a fine diplomatlst, not
very prodigal, moderately given to pleas
lures, he is occupied personally with the
affairs of,stste, and often summons his
tnfnistefs st the risk of distributing their
Ref .he5s more prone 10 giving orders
Than listening to advice; aad, without
iRayin9sats palace, where he is chained
lESy fesi, he holds firmly IN his hands the
fTeins of .fhe government.
The SScesses of every kind, from which
the SuffSNa do hetknow how to abstain
when theYsEEcBsto the throne, exhaust
them quickly and make them prematurely
I old. Abdul Medjid added to innumerRble
vices an immoderate love of champagne,
and Rechid Pacha, Grand Vizier, was
put to unheard- of straits to find him So
her so as to speak to him in regard to the
affsfrssot state, and to obtain his sigma
ture. Abdul Aziz, whose fine bearing,
noble and energetic face have often ad-
emired, never drank anything but water,
tead-sn unheard-of thing in Turkey-he
heWEs smoked; but he ate six times q
day. His meals, 1t is said, consisted of
twenty dishes, into which he thrust his
fingers several times. He always ate
clone, loyal in this matter to the Koran,
Which forbids any person, however great
he may be, to sit at the Calii's table.
Nevertheless, the Grand Vizier, Ali
Pasha, the only man, except Fuad Pashs,
that ever had any ascendancy over him,
demonstrated to him one day the neces-
sity of inviting the Empress Eugene and
few Of the great personages of her suite
to dine with him. The dinner was spread.
The Empress was seated at the right of
the Sultan, who exhibited some astonish-
ment. "Who allowed that woman to seat
herself near me?" he asked IN turkish,
addressing Ali Pasha. The latter, tuIu-
ing towards the Empress, translated
these words as follows: "Madame, the
Sultan, my master, charges me to eI-
press to your majesty, his great pleasure
in receiving you ST his table" This said
the Grand ViZier seated himself on the
left of the Sultan, and told him during
the dinner what he should do, how he
should use his fork, take his glass, use
his plate, ell of which did not prevent
poor Ali Pasha from being in hot water
during this unhappy hour.
The amusements of the Sultans vary
much according to the age in which they
live, and according to the temperament
and their particular tastes. Murad ".
took pleasure in cutting off the head of q
slave every morning, in order to give him
an appetite; and the most moderate mis-
torians place the number of murders that
he ordered or committed with his own
hand at more than 100000. One of his
favorlte distractions was to have men and
women, whom he caused to be stripped
before him, thrown upon iron hooks
fastened in high wall. These unfortu-
mates remained hanging by the flesh,
suffered frightfully for q long time in this
horrible position, and were delivered only
by death. One day he had dozen
children disemboweled, in order to find
In their stomechs an apple that had just
been stolen in his garden.
Murad united drunkenness to these
amiable tastes. His excess having finally
brought upon him serious malady, he
succeeded, contrary TO all hope, in escap-
ing death. When he felt himself beyond
danger, he celebrated his good fortune by
a nocturnal orgy, drinking with his wives
more deeply than ever. A Turkish poet
of the time celebrated this exploit in a
song, the hyperboles of which are almost
untranslatable: "Murad, that sublime
emanation from heaven, was torn from
the arms Of the maiden of the vine whom
he loved distractedly, and his divine I'm
age was no longer reflected in the ma
tutinal cup, which, for so many years,
had cleaned upon him upon the voluptu-
Gus couch. Al the dawn of Beiram, the
Master of the universe permitted the de-
licious fluid to sparkle under his eyes in
the Intoxicating cup, and he began again
to touch with his divine and ruby lips the
crystal in which smiled the golden
draught."
w bHS t'OSS 'ROCS AOL OlRb
when Mural had dipped his divine and
ruby lips in the enchanting cup he also
dipped his divine and ruby hands in the
blood OF his subjects. After his supper,
which almost always ended in an orgy, he
ran into the streets, crszed with drink,
saber in hand, and killed those that he
met. During the day he posted himself
behind window in the seraglio and
hurled poisoned arrows a. the passers-by.
When he went out he had some jsnissa-
ries, armed with clubs, accompany him,
and they beat to death the unfortunate
0nes that they encountered upon their
way.
Other times brings other manners and !
other tastes. The soul of Sultan Abdul !
Aziz has no occasion to reprosch itself !
with any murder durIng it's sojourn upon |
earth; and he could discount II. Gruvy !
himself in his esgerness to save the lives |
If those condemned to death His lips |
never knew the taste of spirits, wine or |
but he loved cockfghting /
and he busted himself more |
With those turbulent winged creatures |
han with his wives and ministers. he !
invited pasnas, cnamoerlsins ana gener
lis to these tournaments, for which he |
had kind of arena, or enclosed space, |
within the enclosure of the |